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Oct 04 – Otaku Madness - Posted By ItachiSasuke
Otaku Feature of the Month: October
Our featured member this month is: KyraChan! Special thanks to Sena Harulumin who nominated her.
1. How did you come across theOtaku?
I'm pretty sure I discovered theO through some sort of quiz. So I got an account, expecting to be active for a day or two and then abandoning the endeavor altogether. And here I am, over two years later, still active.
2. Where did you come up with your username?
When I first became an active entity on The Wired (see: Internet), I created an OC called "Kierra". Eventually that OC became my online name and entity, and the spelling changed to "Kira" and then, after a time, "Kyra".
The "Chan" part comes because when I had created my account, I just knew "Chan" was a Japanese honourific. I eventually learned that it's one of the few honourifics you can call yourself without sounding rude, so I kept it.
3. What type of art do you specialize in?
Wallpapers, mostly, but I do some other things (Fan Art, iWallies, eCards, icons and, of course, writing).
4. How do you think theOtaku has assisted with your art growth?
Before theO, I hadn't even thought of creating anime wallpapers. Now I make them regularly.
It also gave me a platform in which I could write reviews and get my thoughts out about certain anime, for which I am deeply grateful.
5. What do you do when you have art blocks?
I usually don't get art block, but I'll say the 3 things that prevent me from getting art block. Those 3 things are (usually, but not necessarily, in this order):
a) Watch new anime. If I'd only seen 5 anime, then I'd only have 5 anime to want to make wallpapers from, which gives me a limited selection. Because I'm almost constantly seeking out new anime, it expands my options and gives me new ideas to make wallpapers from.
b) Listen to music/AMV's. A lot of my inspiration comes from music and AMV's, and it just generally gets my creative juices going in general.
c) Just do it. Really. Just do it. If I know I need to make a wallpaper, the first step is open up my "Pictures" file on my computer and take a glance at the renders I have saved, then pick one and see what I can do with it. It really helps.
6. Who has inspired you on this website? In general?
Crimson-Rose: You're the one who motivated me to make wallpapers in the first place. Your beautiful art inspired me and made me say "I want to do something like that," and that's when I picked up the metaphorical brush. Thank you so much.
Snowzi: You've pushed me and inspired me to expand my wallpaper styles. In the beginning I was very rigid with my styles, but seeing your variety inspired me to branch out and try different things.
Judai Winchester: You've often talked about how I'm an inspiration to you, but trust me, the road goes both ways. You've inspired me so much with your determination to stay who you are and keep creating art despite less-than-stellar circumstances.
Keba Si Rota and Clueless101: You two, more than anything, just inspire me to do stuff. I see you two balancing personal life with your art, your events/roleplay worlds, as well as anything you else might be going on, and doing a good job of it. You two are amazing at what you do, and I'm kind of jealous of it.
TheDarkEclipse: The best way to describe you is the glue that holds everything together. I may get weary of coming on here and trying to keep up with all that's going on, but you inspire me to keep coming. Though I hardly ever comment, I try and never miss a post of yours because I love your humour and your insight and hearing about whatever antics happen to you day to day. It may be odd to say, but I consider you a good friend and I love talking to you.
And as for inspiration outside of theO, I have to repeat music/AMV's - those really do inspire me a lot, but I also have to give a HUGE shoutout and thanks to Arkada. He's been a huge inspiration, helped shape my anime-watching career a TON, and without him, I probably would have given up on the anime scene a long time ago.
7. Have you ever had to take a break from art? From anime/manga?
I hardly ever draw, so I can't really say I've taken a "break" from that.
As for wallpapers and anime, those who have followed me for a while might remember that awkward hiatus I took over a year ago. That's the only time I've really consciously had to take a break from wallpaper making or anime, and that's because I needed to give myself time to get involved with and obsess over Gorillaz.
8. Have you ever taken art classes?
I took basic, required art class in 7th grade and a drawing class Junior year of high school, which I enjoyed a lot less than I had anticipated. I also took a 3D art class in 8th grade where I learned how to create stained glass, which a past time I haven't had the chance to return to, and that makes me sad. If I ever have that chance to make them again, I would do it in a heartbeat.
I've also taken many band classes and multiple creative writing classes.
9. Anything else you’d like to share? (Quite literally, anything!)
Seriously guys, thank you so much. I wouldn't have made it near this far without you. Thanks to you guys, I have an outlet to talk about anime, to create something beautiful, to talk about life issues when I have no one else to go to. You guys are amazing.
Also, I'm really sorry I never really do anything for your birthdays. They usually come as a surprise and I don't have the time to make anything or do anything for them. I do mentally take note of them. I love you all.
Lastly, I'm glad that I was picked for the October feature because Halloween month. C:
10. To you, what qualifies as something 'artistic'?
Something that someone creates while putting their soul into it. Meaning, something like the design of a chair can be artistic, because the person who designed it put their soul into it, but when it gets mass-produced, the chair itself -- the materials that make up the chair -- the materials that create the chair -- is not artistic, because a machine created it, not a human. But the design is still artistic. If that makes any sense.
11. Something you're looking forward to before the end of the year?
Halloween. Christmas. Ninja's next email. Tomorrow. Really, every day has something to look forward to, so you could say that between now and the end of the year, I look forward to every breath.
Featured works:
In a faraway city
You can also find Kyrachan on DeviantArt
